Clive Palmer will have control of a key number of senators come July 1 - but he's after a lot more.

Mr Palmer has predicted a bold, new direction for Australian politics where his party has a majority in the lower house and he is prime minister.

The mining magnate has dared Prime Minister Tony Abbott to call a double dissolution election if he cannot pass the budget and says the Palmer United Party will run in every lower house seat and can claim victory.

“Our members think there should be an election straight away,” Mr Palmer told Fairfax Media.

“They are ready and standing by.”

The Fairfax MP issued a statement on Friday declaring there should be an election in response to “harsh and cruel measures” in the budget.

Mr Palmer said even Liberal voters felt betrayed by funding cuts to the states and the introduction of a debt levy.

Asked to explain precisely how he could become prime minister, Mr Palmer predicted that his party could take votes from the Coalition and added: “I think we can get the votes we need to make Australia better.''

“I think there will be a new change in the dynamic of Australian politics. In the lower house we will be going out to win it.''

Mr Palmer predicted the PUP could also claim 24 to 30 seats in the Senate.

He based his confidence on the party’s performance in the WA Senate election, where he said its vote had more than doubled to 12.5 per cent.

He claimed that in the three days since Treasurer Joe Hockey announced his first budget, the average number of new members signing up to PUP each day “has gone up nearly 80 times.”

“I was elected in September which was only six weeks after our party was registered,” Mr Palmer said.

“People said we couldn’t do it. This time, people across Australia know that we have a more positive policy for growth than the Coalition.

“This has been Tony Abbott’s real election budget. If he wants to go on an election on that budget, he should.”

On Thursday night, Labor leader Bill Shorten in his budget-in-reply speech also dared Mr Abbott to call an election, with the opposition vowing to oppose key measures such as the Medicare co-payment, changes to higher education and other cuts to health and welfare.

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Greens leader Christine Milne has also indicated her party will block those changes.

In order to wrestle his budget through, Mr Abbott will need the support of Mr Palmer's voting bloc of four senators (the party's three and the Motoring Enthusiasts Party's Ricky Muir) and key independents.

In his statement, Mr Palmer called the Abbott government ''very un-Australian'' saying it had ''turned against our elderly pensioners in a manner that is very much against the Anzac spirit that is the fabric of our nation''.

"Australians don't want to go back to the polls . . . however if there is a double dissolution election called, we will see Australians turn against the two major parties."

Mr Palmer said his party was the "last sentry at the gate for ensuring all Australians get a fair go" and has previously said he would block the debt levy, changes to the pension and Medicare co-payment.

165 comments

How does one "run for Prime Minister"? If a party forms government, they put forward their Prime Minister - you can't "run for PM" because if you don't hold government, you can't be that.

Very sloppy reporting, or simply Clive shooting off his mouth again?

Commenter

BC

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 9:20AM

If Clive puts a candidate in every electorate and they win 75 odd seats (whatever the number for a majority) guess what ....Clive is the new PM..........easy...not too hard to understand.

Commenter

JT

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:05PM

Hey, it worked for Joh...

Commenter

Cap'n Morgan

Location

Sydney

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:06PM

The leader of the party with a majority in the House of Reps is invited by the Governor-General to form a government then is appointed Prime Minister.

Commenter

Mike

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:07PM

You may want to review what he has achieved in a very short time. I would not underestimate him.

Commenter

Chris

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:20PM

probably a bit of both but Clive tends to shoot off his mouth a tad. I think Clive would like American style elections for PM (president). Money changes you everything as the song told us.

Commenter

BarbC

Location

Melbourne

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:22PM

Ask Abbott - he suggested that Julia was not a legitimate PM because the electorate hadn't voted for her.

Commenter

Prose

Location

Sydney

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:30PM

Australia's own version of Silvio Berlusconi

Commenter

Bunga Bunga

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:31PM

He could win enough LNP seats to form an alliance with ALP to kick the tricky Tony and his mop out. Palmer is right if Abbott wants to carry on with his budget he must seek a mandate for it. Can't tell people one thing to get elected then thumb you nose at the electorate. Even Gillard with her Carbon pricing was carefully planned, compensation mechanism in place for the pensioners and low income earners to ensure the Carbon price policy does not cause hardship and effective for the country - and it shows - there are flurry of activities in the renewable sectors and consumption of fossil fuels are proportionally reduced. Unlike this mop just dump their conservative agenda on the unsuspected and trusting electorates.

Commenter

Mais51

Location

Sydney

Date and time

May 16, 2014, 12:34PM

Relax BC it's how the English language works. We don't need to be exactly literal to get our meaning across. Although in your case it seems we do!